The Buffalo Sabres played their first game in 12 days on Wednesday night after the National Hockey League announced it would go on an extended holiday break due to COVID-19 outbreaks with several teams.
The Sabres did not go unaffected by these outbreaks, as several prominent players are currenly in COVID-19 protocols, as well as head coach Don Granato.
Wednesday’s game was also special for many reasons.
Forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs played their first games with the Sabres after being acquired as part of the Jack Eichel trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. Also, forward JJ Peterka and defenseman Ethan Prow each played their first NHL games.
The New Jersey Devils came into town Wednesday night with the same record as the Sabres at 10-15-5, searching for a win as they had lost their last six games in a row. This was partially due to player injuries, as well as players landing in COVID-19 protocols.
However, the extended break boded well for a New Jersey team that allowed their players to get healthy and be ready to play.
Things didn’t start very well for the Sabres when the Devils jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, outshooting Buffalo, 11-3.
The Sabres started to rally in the second period when Tuch recorded his first point with the Sabres when his shot was re-directed in by Tage Thompson. Soon after, Thompson found himself on a breakaway, netting his second goal of the night to tie the game at 2-2.
Going into the third period, the Devils re-gained their two-goal lead with goals from Jack Hughes and Yegor Sharganovich.
Buffalo made one last push late in the third with a goal from Prow, as the 29-year-old recorded his first NHL goal in his first NHL game. However, that was as close as the Sabres get in a 4-3 loss.
This was the first Sabres game in a while, so there’s definitely a lot to unpack here.
Let’s dive in with three observations:
1.) Missing pieces due to COVID-19
The team definitely looked slow and a bit rusty in the first period, but that’s to be expected after a bit of a break.
What really hurt the Sabres, though, was missing pieces in the NHL's COVID-19 Protocol.
Not only was Buffalo missing their leader behind the bench in Granato because of COVID-19, but the team was also missing forwards Dylan Cozens, Zemgus Girgensons, Vinnie Hinostroza, Mark Jankowski and Jeff Skinner, as well as defenseman Jacob Bryson. That’s a lot of key players.
Not to mention, players like Casey Mittelstadt, Drake Caggulia, Colin Miller and Craig Anderson are all still injured.
Nonetheless, the team needed to rely on its depth in the likes of John Hayden, Cody Eakin, Will Butcher, and prospects such as Peterka and Krebs.
As was previously mentioned, Prow was another one of these players that was looked at to step up, and in doing so, lead him to a goal in his first game.
While these players did step up in their new larger roles, the team needs leaders like Cozens and Girgensons back in the lineup. All things considered, the team played rather well.
2.) Kids are alright
It's often been talked all about in Buffalo how the next wave of prospects is going to be "the one". We’ve been saying that since the arrival of Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Rasmus Ristolainein.
However, Peterka and Krebs showed Wednesday night that the future is, indeed, bright. These two prospects didn’t necessarily punch their ticket for a permanent spot on an NHL roster, but they didn’t exactly underperform either.
Krebs has had a taste of NHL play before during his time in Vegas, playing 13 games and recording one point over a two-year span.
The former Western Hockey League Player of the Year certainly showed his grittiness and aggressiveness by getting in deep, and using his body to create chances for the team. At just 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, Krebs iss on the smaller side of the scale, but doesn’t play that way. He plays like an in-your-face center that will hound you all game until you make a mistake.
The 20-year-old could prove to be a very crucial piece for this team in the future.
Peterka, on the other hand, made his NHL debut on Wednesdau, and boy did he show up ready to go.
The 19-year-old was flying around the ice, going up-and-down and all-around, all night long. You could tell on his first shift of the night he was ready to make an impact.
While he didn’t record a point on the night, Peterka was still a plus-1 after being on the ice with Tuch and Thompson when they connected in the second period.
Peterka definitely could’ve earned himself an assist or two with the passes he was pulling off. The German-born winger shows excellent distribution skills that will benefit this team for years to come.
3.) The kid from Syracuse
Tuch grew up like a lot of kids in the Western/Central New York area, living and breathing hockey.
When the 25-year-old was traded to the Sabres earlier this season, we were flashed pictures of him skating on his backyard pond in the red "Butterknives" jersey, or him playing street hockey with Tim Connolly.
We all patiently waited for his shoulder to heal, and finally he was ready to play his first game in the blue and gold on Wednesday.
Not only is Tuch a fan-favorite for being a local kid, but he also happens to be a good scoring winger, recording 140 points in 256 games since entering the league.
Tuch was one of the many names to emerge in the spotlight when Vegas rolled the dice on their island of misfit toys (puns are fun). He contributed right away in his first game with the Sabres, picking up an assist on Thompson’s first goal of the night.
Along with his hard-nosed style of play, Tuch already seems to be adapting to a leadership role in Buffalo.
While many people believe that someone like Cozens could be captain of this team one day, which he certainly can be, Tuch could also step into that role.
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Time will tell who stays and who goes on the Sabres roster, as players begin to exit COVID-19 protocols and get healthy again. However, Wednesday’s game has given us a small glimpse of the future, and it looks bright.
Given time and dedication, this team can be a force in the league for years to come, so long as the players play for the crest on the front and not the name on the back.
The Sabres are back in action on Thursday night, as they travel to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders in the new UBS Arena for the first time.
Sabres pregame coverage on WGR starts at 6:30 p.m. EST with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
